"These punks already insulted the masters, and we have to crush them now!"

A ghastly killing intent flashed in Luciano’s eyes for the first time. These punks were making him lose face in front of his new crew. Subordinates needed to respect their leader, and Luciano couldn’t allow this war of words to continue. Would he have any face left if they kept slapping it so hard?

'These fucking punks, why have they neither cowered in fear nor attacked rashly?' Luciano was worried in his heart. This wasn’t what he envisioned before arriving. Achieving his mission would be a bit harder now. "You truly deserve death for your words," Luciano said coldly as he glared at Axel. The former knew he had to put on a display of strength right now. "My honored masters would surely be uneasy if I didn’t slay you today." Although this was mere lip service, it was also correct. How embarrassing would this be when Luciano’s father found out? Luciano would get punished severely, and there was no way to conceal it because all these men under him had heard. In Luciano's heart, he already decided to find a way to kill these two eye-sores and capture the rest. For now, he could only endure and settle this situation cleanly. Otherwise, once his mother found out as well...Luciano shuddered at the thought. ‘Once I capture them, we can take them back to the legion. It won’t be too late to get rid of these brats then. I also won’t have to worry about the hero guard showing up.’ "I wish to end you now. Unfortunately, I cannot take such a risk. Killing isn’t permitted in a provincial capital like New Origin City, but it should be enough to cripple you all. The Golden Wing Guard won’t challenge our Black Tyrant Legion for a mere skirmish like this. Men, flags out! Laugh with me before we lay waste to these disrespectful weaklings." The surrounding goons all started to snicker and laugh as instructed, at the same time pulling out black bandanas with numbered skull designs. They started covering their bodies with them in various ways, around the forehead, around the jaw, around arms or legs. Ryatt noticed that something changed about all of these youths the moment they wore the bandanas. They seemed to become somehow more savage, more dangerous! 'Their individual strengths haven’t increased, but somehow they seem more intimidating. What is this?' I suddenly wondered if this had something to do with my bad feeling, but it didn’t seem like this was it. I still didn’t feel threatened by these men, despite the changes. In my opinion, my elder sister was far more threatening than the pirates ahead, even when she took it easy. How could they bring a crisis which caused the young Ryatt to feel so nervous? Meanwhile, Luciano’s words truly struck a chord with the youths behind Ryatt and Axel. ‘Cripple us?’ Micayle and Haan’s faces turned pale. Were they really about to be helplessly assaulted in broad daylight? “Why is this street so empty today, anyway?” Micayle whined to Haan in frustration. Not a single person had seen them here, despite it being a residential area. “Could it be because of the Profounder in the central plaza? Has everyone already gone to take a look?” as soon as Haan spoke to her, she convinced herself. She cursed, “What rotten luck! Even if some are still here, Black Tyrant has a nasty reputation. They won’t help us deal with these gangsters.” Meanwhile, Mikah’s face flushed red when he heard Luciano’s earlier words. He suddenly stepped forward and hollered, "How dare you! You’re still a fellow student of our Major Acadia. How can you talk about crippling others? Do you think you can get away with that? I’ll definitely report this to the provincial supervisor’s office." "Fellow students? Provincial supervisor? Ahaha. Bwahaha!" Luciano continued to laugh like a maniac, tears even forming in his eyes. As he flicked them away casually, he said, "I am now a hero, a Power Hunter. At the mere age of eleven, I have achieved the Hero Realm. I’m definitely a genius. What do I care about such a humble school within a humble city of the province? I’m a hero! Do you think this is one of the mystic grounds? Do you think New Origin City is the largest city in the province? It is only the largest humble community, the headquarters of the World Government.” Mikah was stunned at these words. Was this not the case? New Origin City was the largest city in Origin Province. Isn’t this what they learned at school? Could there be larger cities among the magic refiners and profound lifeforms? “This world is ruled by our Supreme Plato Dynasty, where even the pharaohs on high bow in subservience to the Supreme Plato Emperor. Do you think the humble population can interfere in the matters of the strong? Don’t think I’m afraid of you just because your merchant group has a few heroes. What is a hero, really? I’ve already stepped on to brand new path. Nobility? It is but a status rewarded to those at the peak of the Hero Realm. Our scope of vision is different. To become a Mana Disciple and an authentic magic refining pharaoh formulator, that is where my sights lie.” Luciano glanced around and saw the shock and bemusement in the eyes of his classmates. He sighed, feeling as if he had stepped onto a lonely road they couldn’t walk down. The surrounding pirates felt more admiration for their young master at this moment. “Nevermind, you all are clueless. Hmph, it is only a matter of time before I achieve it.” Luciano clenched his fists as his determination became firmer. “My parents put their faith in my success. How could you understand my status? How could you carry this weight?" "Quit the crap, Grave-digger, and let us go," for some reason, my calm and steady yet utterly indifferent voice had a stunning effect. "Even if your a hero, I can still beat you up. That makes you weak and me strong. The mighty makes the righty. Right or wrong?" Although I wasn’t loud, my sudden remark made the surroundings instantly quiet down. My voice made it seem like all of this was no more than dust in the wind to me, but I was actually quite nervous. When he heard the term 'grave-digger,’ Luciano’s face flushed in unconcealed animosity. To insult one’s family name was the biggest insult and extremely disrespectful. Countless people get murdered for speaking like this to those more powerful than them. The last thing Luciano wanted to happen was such disrespect. If he didn’t murder this brat, would his subordinates still respect him? Luciano glances around. Sure enough, the surrounding goons all suddenly had angry faces. "You bastard! You dare to disrespect the Graves name?" "Boss, give the fucking order! The major will never forgive me if I don’t cripple this punk." "Wrong! You’re fucking dead wrong. The young master would slaughter you!" I ignored them all as I continued, "We’re standing right here, you animals. If you want to fight so bad, then fight. Why are we still talking? If you’re nervous, just say that. If you only came here to brag and threaten, I’m sorry, but I have prior engagements. Anyway, my fists always itch when I see your face, Lucci. If you want a beating so bad, I’ll give you one." If you’re nervous, just say that! If you want a beating so bad, I’ll give you one! These two remarks stabbed into Luciano and the gang’s pride like sharp steel daggers. Ryatt Drakel’s overbearing words instantly raised his friends’ morale, who were all still suffering from Luciano's formless pressure. Ryatt and Axel exchanged a glance, and Axel figured out young Ryatt’s goal. I wanted to goad the pirates into attacking. I wanted Luciano to lose control over his forces. If the mob in front of us was allowed to coordinate with each other, Axel felt certain his friends and himself would die today. Axel only noticed at this moment that Luciano seemed to be stalling for some reason. Why hadn’t they attacked? Was he waiting for an opportunity or reinforcements? ‘Reinforcements are out. Luciano is too arrogant to believe we can defeat him.’ Axel thought to himself. ‘Then it can only be he’s waiting for an opportunity. We’ll just play it our way. Either way, we have to fight, right? Otherwise, we’ll all be crippled! I can’t be crippled here. These are supposed to be the best years to start training in magic refinement!’ "That’s what I’m talking about," cried Axel loudly, animatedly slamming his fist into his palm. He shouted aggressively, "Let’s fucking do this, we aren’t afraid a damn Grave-digger. Maybe you can bury yourself after we embarrass you!" "Attack!" The strongest among the pirates outside of Luciano suddenly shouted out furiously when he heard the term grave-digger start to catch the wind. No further insult to the Graves family name could be allowed today. This pirate pulled a gun-like weapon and loaded a sparkling pink crystal into the head, prompting the three goons next to him to do the same. “Mana guns!” I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. “These guys have Wonder Corporation’s humble tech? A mana gun is definitely enough to cause this feeling of danger, even a low-rank gun. Those are at least mid-rank.” The rest of the pirates charged forward furiously at this moment while withdrawing all manner of blunt weapons in hand. "KILL!" "CRUSH THEM!" To Luciano’s shock and utter discontent, the dozen or so members of his pirate crew all swarmed forward without his command. Even the snipers took positions on their own. "Hold! You damn fools. Argh, charge then!" Luciano shouted in frustration. He finally understood these little punks plan, all too late. They disrupted Luciano's own plan. Now, he had to find a way to make his move immediately! These pirates were not yet very loyal to their young master Luciano, as he had only just been promoted. Immediately after being promoted, the young master gathered the crew for an expedition. Even though these pirates didn’t respect Luciano, they were excessively loyal to House Graves. House Graves took them all in as orphans. How can they stand to hear some weak little punks disrespect their benefactors? Their squad leader gave the command, so they immediately complied. "Axel, southwest, I’ll go east." I hurried to communicate to my friends the instant before the others charged. Due to the yells of their enemies, no one heard my words but those intended. "Mikey, stand strong right where you are and don’t anyone near the girls! Don’t move, no matter what! Focus on that. Micky, don’t be rash if there’s trouble; take Haan and run." After giving out a series of commands, I covered ten meters in four giant steps to my right. I sharply inhaled, sweeping out with my legs repeatedly, like a deadly whip. My leg collided with two of the rushing pirates, bursting their upper garments with its force. The impact knocked them tumbling back, many bones in their chest cracked and broken. The tumbling pirates tripped several of the other pirates, and I took this opportunity to dance on their heads with my whip-like legs viciously. "Tcht, kids around my age are too soft," I clicked my tongue. I could tell the first two who attacked were similar in age to me. In fact, they looked familiar. He surmised they were also students at Major Acadia and following Luciano. "As they say, choosing the wrong master often leads to disaster." Right as young Ryatt was distracted, one of the goons grabbed my leg, causing me to fall. However, I instantly landed on my hands and spun my legs like a chopper. My defensive kick cracked a pirate’s leg as I leaped to my feet. "These guys are too resilient…most people can’t even take one strike from me, but I’ve been kicking them several times," I frowned as I looked at those bandanas on the pirates’ bodies. Something was strange about them, but I didn’t know what at the time. "It’s almost like something is resisting my blows. And when I strike, they all seem to be wincing a bit. Could those flags be the legendary defensive magic treasures? Impossible, the humble can’t use magic. That means they can only be humble technology! First mana guns, now these bandanas? Such tech isn’t on the market yet. This Black Tyrant Legion must be pretty well connected." While I couldn't put my finger on why, I very uncomfortable. The man who ordered the attack and those next to him were all aiming weapons, but none of them fired yet. Weren’t these weapons precisely Wonder Corporation's humble technology? Who else but Wonder Corporation could have manufactured such weapons? However, I wasn’t too concerned about those Wonder Corporation weapons, as I could counter them quickly. Humble technology was a new development in this era. This technology gave regular people with no power the ability to contend with the formulators who possessed powers. Not many people knew the wonders of technology, but I knew them very well. After all, my stepfather was a V.I.P at Wonder Corp. On the other side, as soon as Axel saw Ryatt rush forward, he also stepped out to his left. Withdrawing his wooden katana from his back, Axel immediately entered a sword dance. One goon after another entered his range. Axel’s katana gracefully danced as he chopped and swiped at three of the rushing pirates, tying them down in close combat. Axel was once the top athlete at Major Acadia before he convinced me to join the sports club. As a natural ace with the sword, he believed defeating three young street fighters shouldn’t prove much of a challenge. However, no matter how he hit these goons, they had yet to fall. Every time he hit one, the other two would pounce, quickly sending him on the defensive. Axel could only find one word to describe the defensive prowess of his opponents’ bodies. Tough! Haan and Micayle were scared initially, but they currently couldn’t tear their eyes away from this fight. One could only describe their gazes as fanatical. Haan looked to the right with curiosity in her eyes. Over there, Ryatt had managed to incapacitate any pirate who came his way with some effort, the movements of his limbs barely visible to Haan. Mikah’s eyes shined. He glanced at the girls behind him and noticed they were no longer petrified but somewhat mystified. Seeing the worshipping look in his crush’s eyes as she looked in Ryatt’s direction, Mikah wanted a piece of the action even more. ‘Hey...don't just look at Lucky, don't just look at Axel. I’m impressive too, Haan! I can do it too, sis!’ conviction filled Mikah's thoughts. He completely forgot his role.